City Government

Boise’s Official F-35 Rhetoric Toned Down

Far from pulling the plug on F-35 support, we detected a “decreased volume” in the official City of Boise rhetoric following a visit by Mayor Dave Bieter and two city councilors to Hill Air Force Base in Utah this week.

F-35 fighters at Hill AFB. USAF Photo


Morgan Boydston at KTVB interviewed Mike Journee, Team Dave’s mouthpiece who used phrases like, “…a continuing mission at Gowen which COULD include the F-35,” instead of the previous mantra of, “without the F-35 we could lose the Air Guard.” He soft pedaled the intense efforts previously employed by the City.

Gone was the previous confrontational tone from City Hall toward opponents of the noisy fighter jet being based in Boise. We see that as a step forward in what has become a divisive debate.

The GUARDIAN has been made aware of a series of written exchanges between the Citizens For A Livable Boise, Journee, and airport director Rebecca Hupp. Both sides claim to have the “true facts” regarding the noise and ultimate effect of the F-35 on Boise’s quality of life.

If Boise is not selected as a finalist for the F-35, we are confident the politicos and the citizens will be able offer support for an alternative flying mission in the future. Meanwhile, the current A-10s will probably remain on duty for several years.

Comments & Discussion

Comments are closed for this post.

  1. We can assume that if we don’t get the F-35 that we’ll keep the A-10’s which is only logical. But there has been very little logic in any of this F-35 mess to date.

    Even if we do luck out and keep the A-10’s they won’t be here forever. Instead of kicking the can down the road, the city will need to plan correctly for the future.

  2. ...too quiet
    Aug 10, 2017, 10:13 am

    A lull in Military Industrial Complex cheerleading is likely due to a winding down of Team Dave’s current propaganda campaign while they devise a new and exciting way to shove unwanted noisy jets down the throats of misinformed Boiseans.

  3. Citizens for a Livable Boise
    Aug 10, 2017, 10:15 am

    It is true that both the city and CLB claim to have the true facts. CLB has an ongoing invitation to the city and/or IDANG to debate those facts in an open fair public form of their choice. Let the public be involved and given the opportunity to decide for themselves.

  4. New Life for the A-10
    Aug 10, 2017, 11:42 am

    Given the fact that the Air Force has already received funding to replace the wings on all the A-10’s AND the Air Force has stated that the A-10s will not be retired for at least 10 years maybe the Mayor and Ms Clegg can stop thumbing their noses at the citizens of Boise. Most likely not.

  5. I thought a “fact” was, by definition, true. But after watching the Boise City Council I can see that they are very comfortable with “false facts”.

  6. Dan – “the city will need to plan correctly for the future”???

    You assume that they have ever done this? Given how they have acted in this situation why would you assume that they would change their behavior? They have not in the past.

    This set of City Council members have clearly and LOUDLY shown how they treat citizens – they avoid them!! They refuse to attend citizen meetings and push their media flack out to spew PR lines. They could care less unless you live in the North End.

    They openly refuse to create districts that would mandate other areas of the City get represented because they know they would be voted out!

    The more senior of the City Councilors have never supported the citizens outside the small area where they live. Look at the map where they live.

    This group has the ultimate, “it is all about me and my place in this little club” attitude.

    They all need to be voted out. You and I are not in their little club.

  7. Understanding
    Aug 10, 2017, 1:13 pm

    This is an example of why it is very foolish to allow one political machine to remain in office more than two terms. The failure is at the level of the individual. Low voter turnout. Especially so with super low turnout for odd date stealth elections. If the opposition parties involved in this F-35 fight really wants to send TeamDave a message, they need to focus additional efforts on getting out the vote. TeamDave needs to be shown the door for all the pandering to special interests. Bieter knows this is his vulnerability and is now trying to dilute things by claiming an extended A-10 timeline.

    Shame on local legacy media. They’ve been pushing this F-35 right up our rear more forcefully than the Guard and Mayor. Your job is to sell advertising for as much as possible. You can do this by remaining neutral rather than pandering to the Mayor. Most of you have the integrity of a used car salesman. FU!

    As for Gowen future. The USAF will begrudgingly keep the A-10 until McCain is gone. Do not assume it will remain at Gowen however. A regular change is traditional at Guard units to shake them up. Similar to when corporations move their HQ 1500 miles away just to shake off the deadwood. Gowen is way overdue for change as evidenced by Gowen’s leadership smearing F-35 opposition rather than remaining neutral as they should. The Guard is funded by anyone paying taxes. To use Guard money and Guard assets to come out swinging at a group of concerned taxpayers is inappropriate. It shows personnel are entrenched and putting self before community.

  8. Paul E Fortin
    Aug 10, 2017, 2:18 pm

    I know after I attended the F 35 debate at the library did I realize no city officials were going to give their input on the issue. Basically our elected officials didn’t care that numerous neighborhoods property values would fall should Boise actually get the F35. We can’t sacrifice these neiborhoods under the term of progress.

  9. Yvonne Schmidt
    Aug 10, 2017, 9:20 pm

    “Decreased volume” means hope you all quit talking Against the F35 coming to Gowen Field!

  10. ...too quiet
    Aug 11, 2017, 12:24 pm

    Understanding -Low voter turnout is not a problem, as stated many times by many folks in this comment section.

    A sample size of 500 is all that is necessary to determine the the desires of a city with a population the size of Boise. Basic Statistics 101.

    The problem is that the corporate media, known collectively as “presstitutes”, are in the pockets of the elites, along with our criminal politicians.

    Citizen sentiment toward insanely loud jets is nearly 100% against, as seen by the many meetings of neighbors where one lone person speaks for the jets out of hundreds.

    With almost complete opposition to the idea, the local media should be running stories about this travesty regularly, but… CRICKETS…

    Intentionally uninformed, or misinformed voters are the problem, and more of them doesn’t change the outcome.

  11. What they do
    Aug 13, 2017, 5:25 pm

    Look at what the planners and organizers in this city do, vs what they say. If they do things to help the citizens, fabulous. If they do things with our common man taxes to assist the common man, fabulous.

    WE need a candidate. I nominate Dan Marler. We need some analytical leadership, planning and some outcomes for the citizens, not just the developers.

    Whew.

    Don’t wait for an extreme conservative. Let’s find a qualified moderate, democrat, with some skills. I think Mayor Bieter would welcome getting voted out. I have often heard him quoted “Does anybody want this job?”

    He has way more money than you need to retire and turn your effort to philanthropic things. He may be a better asset to the community if he didn’t think it was all about jobs and progress.

    Goodness. Let’s find a good leader and a good staff to implement the plans.

    EDITOR NOTE–To clarify, there are only three council seats up for reelection. Thomson the incumbent and those seats being vacated by Maryanne Jordan and Ben Quintana who are not running for reelection. The mayor race is still two years away.

  12. Paul E Fortin
    Aug 13, 2017, 10:46 pm

    As being one of the 6 candidates for seat 2, for Boise City Council, part of my platform is all neighboods should be treated the same. So if I was on the council today I would vote to do all things possible to keep the A10 or another plane with similar sound levels.

  13. Eagle Writer
    Aug 14, 2017, 10:58 am

    At risk of getting off topic, Mr. Fortin’s pledge to treat all neighborhoods “the same” sounds good but is fundamentally flawed. All neighborhoods do not need the same amount of fire protection or policing, all neighborhoods do not require the same amount of lawn water, etc. Lot sizes and population density matter, as does proximity to the interstate, industrial sites, the foothills, and yes, the airport.

  14. Pie in the sky
    Aug 14, 2017, 10:39 pm

    Yep, It’s time for some detail Paul. Pie in the sky to get elected is what they all say. Then they get right back to being slippery democrats the day after.

  15. Paul E Fortin
    Aug 15, 2017, 12:13 pm

    A recent commit about getting elected to council and forgetting about the F35 problems in my case is wrong
    The mayor and council need to focus on getting a date that the A 10 will be retired and then focus on a replacement which will have equal or less noise than the A10. So if elected I would vote no for any replacement plane that has a noise level above the A 10. I hope that answers the ?

  16. Pie… or slippery republicans.

  17. Paul E Fortin
    Aug 15, 2017, 3:51 pm

    Not sure what pie or slippery republicans exactly means, I am more than willing to meet with any person or neighborhood group and answer any questions about my convictions about the A10 or F35. Right now the A10 is still in the next Fed budget. The present wars in the Mideast has demonstrated a plane like the A 10 is needed for close air support.

  18. I know my Air Force buddies will not like this BUT….

    Boise is a perfect place to expand helicopter and Osprey operations. They are nice and quite (compared to the jets) and they would play nicely with the tanks.

    We could add even more people, pilots, ground crews and others than are currently with the Air Force. SO have the Air Guard share space at Mt Home and expand ARMY! Go Army!

  19. Mr. Editor;

    Perhaps a new thread for candidates like Mr. Fortin to post their views and field questions from voters?

    EDITOR NOTE–Actually working on it now along with the “candidate primer” info all candidates should know.

  20. Understanding the council
    Aug 16, 2017, 6:58 pm

    I would like to see a chart. Which seats are vacant, which seats are crossovers, which seats absolutely need replacements. Chart it if you will please.

    EDITOR NOTE–Seems like we covered it already. Ben Quintana is leaving seat 2 open. Maryanne Jordan is leaving seat 6 open. TJ Thomson is running for reelection to seat 4.

  21. This F-35 contract is an unethical money grab by a few at the hands of thousands of people in/atound Boise. It needs to go to a city vote and not be pushed thru by a handful of people. It is Regressive not Progressive to put F-35s at Gowen field. If the contract gets accepted for Boise, my house is going up for sale shottly thereafter- sayanora Boise- and you can gove thanks to your unethical Council, Mayor and especially Governor –

  22. Tom Lorentz
    Aug 27, 2017, 8:23 pm

    The F-35A which will be used by the Air Force will cost $94.6 million ea. The F-35B & F-35C which will be used by the Marines and Navy will cost $122.8 and $121.8 million respective.

    This is the most expensive weapon system in our history. This plane continues to be plagued by operational problems.

  23. I believe the low key volume about F35 will stay that way till after the city council election Nov 7. Boise city officials should be looking for a plane that that has lower or roughly the same noise of A 10.. I know there can be a balance if both sides would Sit down at a table.

  24. $407 Billion
    Aug 30, 2017, 2:18 pm

    The Houston flooding is the worst in USA history. It is so bad they expect it will cost 25% as much as the F-35 program.

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